Edwards: Not engaging Iran; a serious mistake.

Nail on the head, John.

We're listening.

Opelika-Auburn News | AP News:

DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) -- Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards criticized the Bush administration on Sunday for failing to engage directly with Iran to resolve problems with the Iraq war and Iran's effort to develop nuclear weapons.

'It's a huge strategic mistake not to be dealing directly with Iran,' Edwards told the Associated Press in an interview before a campaign event in Dubuque.

'What we should be doing with Iran, both on the Iraq issue and the nuclear issue, is being much smarter than we're being now. We have tools available to us to engage them.'

America's relationship with Iran emerged as a hot topic last week amid reports the Iranian government was shipping armor-piercing weapons to militias in Iraq.

Some intelligence reports suggested the shipments were being authorized by top Iranian officials. President Bush accused Iran of providing weapons to hostile Shiite groups, but stopped short of blaming top Iranian leaders.